SHAKEN BABY ALLIANCE

Target demographics: to provide support for victim families and professionals, to provide education for prevention of child abuse and elder abuse, and to provide justice for the innocent victims of child abuse

Direct beneficiaries per year: Since 1998, we have provided support to over 250 victim family members per year, trained over 5000 high schoolers in how to deal with a crying baby and SIDS risk reduction, and provided advanced forensic investigation training and child abuse prevention training to over 1,500 professionals each year. Additionally, we provided over 150 case consultations during 2015, with the numbers increasing each year.

Geographic areas served: in Tarrant County, the state of Texas, and nationwide

Programs: Our three core programs, Family Support, Training, and Case Consultations target the following populations: (1) Family Support: For families of children who are diagnosed with both fatal and non-fatal child physical abuse, that are often left behind and not served by other programs, we help with everything from physical and emotional support, to assistance navigating through the Special Education, health, and legal systems. (2) Training: a. We provide advanced forensic investigative training programs for professionals including law enforcement, child protection, adult protective services, medical practitioners, and legal professionals related to child physical abuse, child welfare, and elder abuse. b. As crying is the number one trigger for shaken baby syndrome, we offer education related to coping methods to high school students and child care professionals. (3) We provide case consultation services nationwide upon request related to crimes against children and the elderly. These services can be a very simple request, such as a doll that was requested by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office for a case they are prosecuting this week, to assistance with crime scene investigation, developing interview questions, timeline development, or visual aids and recommendation for expert witnesses to be used in court by legal personnel.